Woodworking shops deal with dust and other loose airborne materials on a daily basis. The cutting, sanding and shaping of wood products produce airborne particles that may cause harm to an operator who is unaware of the risk or not properly protected. These same risks exist for the craftsman at home working in their workshop.
Commonly woodworkers employ downdraft dust collectors to help collect dust and debris. These downdraft dust collectors provide a work surface, connected to a vacuum device, which allows the dust, debris and other loose materials generated to be vacuumed, through holes in the work surface, away from the work environment and the operator. However, dust, debris or loose material that floats high enough above the work surface is not able to be collected by these downdraft dust collectors and stays in the work environment. Additionally, downdraft dust collectors are bulky, single integrated units, which are typically fixed in location and difficult to transport.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a downdraft table capable of providing a portable downdraft work surface with the utility of a downdraft dust collector as well as capabilities to collect airborne particles above the work surface.